A new Prince
by A.qahar1
Summary: A Malfunction in the time machine leaves Trunks in a new world. How will his presence in the Avatar world change its fate?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Malfunction

Trunks was ready to return to his own timeline. He leaned against the wall outside Bulma's lab, waiting for her to finish synthesising the fuel for his time machine. He wanted to get back home soon so he only asked for enough fuel for a one way trip, he knew his mother, future Bulma, would be able to make more should he want to come back to the past.

Now that he'd eradicated the Androids and Cell from his own timeline he was finally at ease. For the first time in his life he wasn't stressed out, instead he was content, maybe he could actually live a peaceful life.

As he stared into his own reflection through his sword, there was one thing on his mind though. Gohan's perfected form. He'd seen the power of the form when Goku's son had obliterated Perfect cell, and once again when he wiped out Bojack. It was awe inspiring, yet deep down he knew he could achieve the ascended state, it was just a question of time and training.

"Trunks!" Bulma hollered. "Your fuels all set" she smiled holding out a cylinder of bluish fluid.

"Oh what? That was quick" he replied, sheathing his sword behind him. "Well I guess that means it's time then." He smiled back at her. "Thanks mum, for everything" He took a hold of the fuel and headed to the courtyard with Bulma.

Once in the open space he took out the capsule in his pocket, pressing the top and throwing it in front of him. *Poof*. When the smoke cleared you could see a futuristic looking machine, shaped sort of like an egg, with 4 legs holding it up and an array of turbines around it.

Going round the side, Trunks opened up the side panel and placed the cannister of fuel into position, however it felt a bit stiff and needed a bit of force despite usually fitting right in. 'That's odd', he thought. After closing the panel, he went back to Bulma and gave her hug. What he didn't notice was the small sparks coming from the panel

"Oh yeah I almost forgot here's a little gift from us Trunks", she said, pulling out a case from her lab coat. "It's a couple capsules with some senzu beans, saiyan armour, and a space ship. Vegeta insisted I put a gravity room in it so you wouldn't 'become a weakling again' as he put it". He couldn't help but chuckle at that.

Climbing into the cockpit and closing the hatch, he activated the turbines and slowly watched the ground get more distant as the time machine climbed higher into the air. "well time to go back" he muttered to himself, as he pressed the launch trigger. The machine whirred louder and the engines came to life, but as soon as they did an alarm blared. The pod became lit with flashes of red, and the monitor voice screamed "CRITICAL OVERHEATING!".

Frantically, Trunks tried his best to fix the error, pushing in multiple commands. "Come on!", he growled at the monitor, but when he saw flickers of orange coming from the fuel compartment he knew it was pointless. He could see Bulma's horrified face below, but before he could exit the craft the blaring siren came to an abrupt stop. *Zlip*. He was gone.


	2. Chapter 2: Foreign lands

Chapter 2: Foreign land.

In an instant, Trunks was no longer at capsule Corp. One moment he was staring down at Bulma's courtyard, and the next he was hurtling towards what looked like an ocean.

Thinking fast, he ejected from the machine, letting it fall towards the ocean as he flew down behind it. He could capsulize it when it was wet, not when it was on fire. With a massive splash metal met water, however it couldn't sink far as Trunks grabbed on to a leg and yanked it back up.

"Oh kami that was cold", he said, completely drenched. Landing on a nearby ice sheet, he put the time machine down and flared his ki to dry off. The damage was evident; burns along the side, the machinery inside was soaked, and fuel was dripping down from the compartment. Luckily, the fuel tank was still roughly half full.

"Crap baskets, its totalled" he sighed. He hoped he'd just about made it back to his own timeline, but as he stretched out his senses he knew he hadn't. "Too many people to be my timeline, hopefully someone can help fix my time machine, but what's this weird energy some of them have?" pressing the pad on the side of the machine, he turned it back into a capsule and slipped it into his pocket. "Guess I'll have to find out", he said flying off.

After maybe 4-5 minutes, he reached the nearest group of people, which was a small Arctic village. Only 2 of them had the weird energy, but none were really strong at all. He landed within the village walls.

All Trunks could see were women and children, and they were all too fixated on something to notice him. Just then he saw a young boy dressed in orange jump into the air and begin to fly around, only he wasn't using ki he was using some sort of glider and that weird energy. It was almost impressive, until he flew headfirst into a snow structure. "My watchtower!" he heard a someone whine.

Finally, one of the children noticed him and pointed him out. Immediately everyone backed away, suspicion and distrust oozed from their faces. One kid walked forward, he seemed to be the only older boy in the village. "who are you and how did you get in?".

Trunks was slightly taken aback by the hostility. "Uhm my name's Trunks, and I just came over the wall", he replied honestly.

"Well why are you here, are you a Fire nation spy?!", the boy spat.

"No, I don't even know what the Fire nation is". Trunks was confused, he wasn't the best at geography, but he'd never heard of a Fire nation before.

"Very funny, HA HA." He said sarcastically. "Look buddy we've already got one weirdo from outside to deal with we don't need another."

Trunks could just fly off, but he wanted to know what that weird energy was. Plus he could also use a place to sleep for a while.

"What do I have to do for you to trust me?", Trunks asked.

"I don't know, give us enough food to feed the whole village", he said thinking that was impossible. He was wrong.

Trunks smirked. "Easy enough, just give me a minute." He replied.

"What do you mean a minu-", the boy was cut off by the force of Trunks' take off. Trunks flew at break neck speed and dived into the ocean. He searched for the largest power and grabbed onto a couple of whales. Blasting out of the water, he returned to the village and plopped the two behemoths on the ground.

"Should be enough right?", he remarked rhetorically.

Everyone's jaws were dropped. Some people mumbled about him being a spirits

"Yeah that should do", the boy meekly said, still fazed.

Out of nowhere the boy in orange ran up to Trunks, his eyes wide with excitement. "ARE YOU AN AIRBENDER?!", he shouted.

"An air-what? ", Trunks said confused. "Sorry kid I don't even know what that is"

At this point a young girl walked up to the boy in orange. "Aang no one's seen an airbender for a hundred years remember, he probably doesn't know of airbending", she explained.

"But katara, you saw how he flew. I can't even do that with my glider!", the boy named Aang countered. "He must be a master airbender ".

"Okay slow down everyone, I'm not from... Around here, so can someone just explain to me what all this airbending and waterbending is", Trunks interjected.

"Can we do it after lunch though?", the older boy asked while drooling at the meat.

"Of course you're thinking about food Sokka", Katara commented, rolling her eyes.

Trunks held his stomach. Being a Saiyan, food didn't sound too bad right now. "Actually eating sounds good right about now", Trunks Agreed. "That is, if you'll allow me?".

"Yeah sure, why not. Bring us food like this and you can stay as long as you like buddy", Sokka said.

After dragging the two carcasses over to the other side of the village, and cutting them into manageable pieces, Trunks and Sokka left to allow the cooks to get to work, and also to get Trunks into more suitable clothing. He now wore a light blue tunic and dark blue pants, held up with a leather belt, and brown boots. Aang and katara had wondered off somewhere, looking for penguins.

"So... Trunks was it? I guess we didn't get off on the right foot did we?" Sokka remarked, trying to spark conversation.

"That's all right, you were just defending your village, I understand", Trunks explained. "But why are you the only man in the village?"

"My dad left with the other warriors when I was a kid"

Trunks could tell it was sore subject from the look in Sokka's eyes. He didn't want to press on it.

"Anyway" Sokka started. "I was going to ask, where are you from? It's pretty hard to guess, your build says earth Kingdom, your skin tone says fire nation, and the whole flying thing just screams airbender."

Trunks wasn't sure how to answer, he couldn't exactly just say he popped up in a time machine. As he was struggling to come up with something, he noticed a bright light in the corner of his eye.

"Oh no!" Sokka gasped. "It's a flare, the fire nation will be coming now!

10 minutes later Aang and Katara showed up at the village gates.

"I Knew it!" Sokka shouted, pointing at Aang. "You signalled the Fire Navy with that flare! You're leading them straight to us, aren't you?"

"Aang didn't do anything! It was an accident.", Katara protested.

"Yeah. We were on the ship and there was this booby trap, and, well... we booby-ed right into it.", Aang explained, sheepishly rubbing his head. (Reminded Trunks of Goku)

"Katara, you shouldn't have gone on that ship! Now we could all be in danger!", her gran gran scolded.

"Don't blame Katara. I brought her there. It's my fault", Aang quickly interjected

"Aha! The traitor confesses! Warriors, away from the enemy." Sokka commanded. "The foreigner is banished from our village."

"Woah, Sokka don't you think you're being a little too harsh? ", Trunks asked. "It was an accident"

"No! He needs to leave!"

"FINE!", katara shouted. "Then I'm banished, too! Come on Aang, let's go."

"Katara where are you going? Are you really going to pick him over your tribe? Your family?", Sokka said angrily.

This stopped Katara in her tracks. She wanted to go with Aang, to the north Pole, but she couldn't leave her family like this. Aang could see the conflict in her.

"Katara, I can't come between you and your family", he said sadly.

"So, you're leaving the South Pole? This is goodbye?" she asked, looking defeated.

"Thanks for penguin sledding with me"

As Aang got onto Appa, Trunks stepped forward.

"Aang I'm coming with you", he said, coming towards the bison.

"uhm, I guess that's fine", Aang replied, slightly confused as to why Trunks wants to go with him.

"Trunks, why are you going with him?", Sokka asked, shocked.

"He's just a Kid, and I'm not going to leave him out alone". Trunks was annoyed at Sokka for bring so unforgiving towards Aang for a mistake. "let's go Aang" Trunks said, hopping on to Appa

Aang and Trunks rode off, both of them remaining silent. However, after 30 minutes of riding, both of them noticed the massive ship going towards the village.

"Oh no! We've got to go back." Aang exclaimed, making a B line for the tribe.

"Aang, its going to take too long to get back on Appa. We've got to fly."

Aang nodded back, jumping into the air and unfolding his glider. Trunks flew up after him, he could've gotten to the village in seconds himself, but he wanted them to trust Aang again.

They both got back to the village in relatively quick time, and saw that the ship had broken through the village wall. A teenage boy loomed over Sokka, holding two fire daggers.

"Tell me. Where is the avatar!", the boy yelled.

"I don't know!"

Aang dropped from the sky and blew the armoured teen back with a gust of wind.

"Hey Katara, hey Sokka", Aang said nonchalantly.

"You're the avatar!?", the boy said getting up. "I trained for 3 years to fight you? A child?"

Trunks descended from the sky in between the village and the firebenders, his eyes locked onto the teenage boy Aang blew back.

"How about you fight me instead of bullying children and the elderly?", Trunks snapped.

"I'm not interested in you peasant, now get out of my way!I am Prince Zuko of the fire nation and I will have the avatar!", he screamed, charging at Trunks. As he reached Trunks, he launched his fist forward releasing a plume of flame that engulfed Trunks completely.

"NO!", Aang, Katara, and Sokka shrieked in unison.

As the flames cleared the group expected to see the charred remains of the boy they just met, at point blank range no one could survive a blast like that. Tears welled up in Katara's eyes at the sight of seeing someone die in front of her.

"Ha, cute. Sorry, but you're not getting Aang today.", mocked a voice from the smouldering flames. "Now it my turn."

Everyone looked up, flabbergasted.

Trunks stepped out the fire unscathed and stalked towards Zuko, like demon coming from hell. The boy attempted to launch another stream of fire, but Trunks gripped his fist and tightened his grip ever so slightly. Zuko screamed as it felt like his hand was being crushed by a boulder.

"Let go!", he growled.

"Make me"

Trunks got bored of this, spinning Zuko's Arm behind his body and throwing him across the snow, he was caught by a stout old man.

"Zuko are you okay!?", the old man asked.

"I'm fine uncle, we need to get the avatar"

"I told you already, you're not getting him", Trunks said annoyed. "Not unless you get through me."

"What are you going to do against all my men by yourself", Zuko snarled.

Trunks smiled. "Let me show you what you're up against."

Trunks clenched his fist and let out a small grunt as he spiked his power to about 20% of his base. His white aura flared to life, whipping around him like a wild fire, it seemed to illuminate everything around him. A crater formed below him, his energy melting the ice and turning it into steam.

The villagers and the fire benders now erupted with shrieks of "SPIRIT!". Zuko and his uncle looked terrified as they stared up at the lavender haired boy who was before them, they could feel his power in the rumbling earth beneath them. It was as though the ground wanted to tear itself apart and swallow them, the air became so thick it was like trying to breathe in a volcano.

Suddenly, Aang fell to the floor clutching his head, groaning as his eyes and arrows began to glow. Hurricane force winds began to swirl around Aang as he levitated into the air above Trunks.

"Aang!", Katara shrieked.

"What's wrong with him?", Trunks questioned worriedly, dropping his power up out of surprise.

Aang raised his hands, melting the surrounding snow to create a massive torrent around him. With a slice of his arm he sent the water shooting forward, blasting away the firebenders. However, as soon as he had, he fell to the ground unconscious.

Everyone rushed to Aang's side, katara holding him and making sure he was okay. Slowly Aang opened his eye, they weren't glowing. "What happened", he mumbled out, clearly still dazed.

"You started glowing and used some crazy waterbending moves to wipe out the jerk and his men", Sokka explained with glee.

The firebenders all began to retreat back to their ship, none of them were prepared to face against what they saw. A lavender haired spirit and a raging avatar would terrify even veteran generals.

"Zuko!", his uncle shouted. "We must leave now! we can't fight this".

"But uncle-", he started to argue, but when he turned and looked at the boy who crushed his hand,they locked eyes again. Zuko could see clearly what was in his eyes. Killing intent.

He rushed back onto his ship, "let's go." He hissed.


	3. Chapter 3: Revelation

Chapter 3: Revelation

Trunks had watched Zuko's ship sail away, he considered shooting a ki blast and destroying it, but he decided to give them a second chance. Next time he wouldn't. Aang recovered quick from his outburst, and decided that he would take Katara, Sokka, and Trunks to see the Southern air temple, in the morning. Right now everyone was asleep, but Trunks couldn't bring himself to doze off, his mind buzzed with all that had happened.

Where and when exactly was he? All of this bending stuff was completely new to him. Maybe the machines coordinates messed up and brought him to a different planet, but that doesn't explain why there are humans here. ''Ah! This is so confusing.'', he thought to himself.

After a good half hour of sleeplessness, Trunks decided to meditate the way Gohan taught him to so long ago. He sat cross legged with his back straight, his fingers on top of each other and his thumbs touching. He closed his eyes and peered into the darkness, focusing only on the pulsating energy in his core. However, oddly enough he could feel something in the darkness, a very faint energy.

He snapped his eyes open, looking around the tent the villagers gave him, scanning for any odd energies. He spread his senses wide, he could feel the sleeping villagers and animals near by, nothing was out of place but Trunks was sure he felt something. In the end he chalked it up to just a blip, but he still couldn't bring himself to sleep.

'Oh well, doesn't look like I'm sleeping tonight so I may as well get some practice in', he thought, as he stepped out of his tent. He slowly levitated into the air, as not to wake anyone, and took of so he was a good distance away from the village. "This should do". He took a capsule out of the case Bulma gave him before he left, pressed the top, and threw it. *Poof*. In front of him now was a giant spherical ship with capsule Corp written boldly across it.

Trunks entered the ship and headed for the control buttons, 20x Earth's gravity would be a decent start. He removed his top and pressed the large red rectangular button, watching the room turn crimson as he felt his body become heavier. Taking his stance, he started some of his katas. He was a flurry of roundhouses, jabs, hooks and straight kicks, though slow to him anyone on this world would find his movements undetectable due to sheer speed. Next he flipped back, landing in a handstand, and began his 1000 push ups. Trunks trained until day break.

Aang was the first to wake up, giddy with excitement at the thought of taking his new friends to see his home. He rushed about setting up Appa's saddle for the journey, it would take a while to get to the Temple. An hour after Aang, katara and Sokka woke up, likely woken up by the racket.

"Aang what are you doing so early?", Sokka grumbled.

"Just getting ready to go". Aang jumped off Appa, looking around confused. "Uh guys, where's Trunks?"

As Aang asked the question Trunks swooped in from above, landing behind Sokka and causing him to jump.

"You have got to stop doing that!", Sokka yelped.

"You've also got to tell us how you do that", Katara chimed in.

"Hehe, sorry, maybe later", Trunks said rubbing the back of his head.

"Where were you anyway?"

"I couldn't sleep so I headed out for some light training, I didn't want to wake anyone up so I headed away from the village. I also caught a few fish for the trip." Trunks popped down a net of a few dozen fish in front of Sokka.

"Trunks... I love you", Sokka said, hugging him.

"Guys let's get going!", Aang shouted as he jumped back onto Appa.

"Alright Aang, stay calm", Katara laughed. Katara had been quiet for a while, to be honest she didn't sleep much either. Aang was so exited to go back to the Temple, but she knew he wouldn't find the home he lived in. Katara hid her concerns behind a smile and climbed into the flying bison.

"OK Aang, let's see this fly shall we", Sokka mockingly said.

Aang only smirked. "Appa, YIP YIP!".

With a growl and slam of his tail, Appa soared into the air as though he were weightless. In a matter of seconds they were among the clouds and Sokka could only peer over the edge, slack jawed, as Katara gave him the 'I told you so' look.

After a few hours of flying, Trunks could feel the lack of sleep begin to weigh on his eyelids so he thought he'd try and catch up on some on the way to the Temple. He lay down with his arms behind his head and dozed off, falling asleep nigh instantaneously.

In his dreams Trunks could hear something and could make out some strange images. Flashes of a man filled his head. He wore an orange tunic and his hair fell framed his thin face. "Find the ancient one".

Trunks snapped his eyes open. They'd landed.

"Wakey wakey", Katara laughed.

"Guess I must have knocked out the whole way here".

Aang began hurrying everyone to the Temple. "Hurry up guys, I've got so much to show you!", he said as he pushed Trunks along.

Looking around the place did look amazing architecturally, but it also looked abandoned, like a ghost town. It was clear that Sokka and Katara knew what had happened, and Trunks got the jisttgat it was t anything good.

"Guys look, I used to play airball here", Aang pointed toward a place covered with stumps of wood. "and that's where the bison would be", he pointed at a clearing next to the air all field. Suddenly, Aang's expression became sombre.

"what's wrong Aang?, katara asked.

"This place used to be full of monks and lemurs, now.. It's just weeds."

Sokka could tell Aang was upset and decided to change the subject. "Hey, why don't you show us how to play".

"I'd like to play too", Trunks said.

Soon Trunks and Sokka where in the air ball field with Aang. The young airbender rotated the hollow ball in the palm of his hand, smiling, he threw the ball into the sky and then launched it forward with a roundhouse kick. The ball ricocheted of the stumps, heading towards Sokka who braced himself for impact, but it was Trunks who stopped the ball. Trunks couldn't airbend the ball so he was just using small bursts of kiai to launch it back, it wasn't nearly as effective as Aang's bending, which gave him a greater dexterity. After a few minutes Aang had won, the score being 5-7, Trunks managing to get a few shots past.

Getting down off the stumps, after being bruised by the air ball in multiple places, Sokka noticed something metal in the snow. Getting closer he could see what it was, and so could his sister. A Firebender helmet.

"We have to tell him", Sokka told katara.

"I think Sokka's right on this", Trunks agreed.

Reluctantly Katara called Aang, but when she saw his smiling face she quickly covered the helmet, and Sokka, in snow.

"What is it", Aang asked.

"Nothing, just a new waterbending move", she lied.

"We can do that later, there's a whole temple to explore"

Aang led them all to the centre of the temple, stopping to show them a statue of his master monk Gyatso. Aang bowed to the statue in respect, a hint of remorse in his eyes as he stared at the effigy. They carried on further into the centre until they came across a massive door, an intricate mechanism placed on it.

"Where are we going Aang?" Katara asked.

"To the sanctuary, there's someone I'm ready to meet."

"There's no way someone's survived in there for 100 years Aang".

"Well I did in an iceberg".

"Fair point", Katara admitted.

"Hey Aang, you want me to open this thing?", Trunks asked. He could see any other way of getting it open since there was no keyhole.

"Nah, don't worry I've got the key". Aang made a sharp inhale, filling his lungs with the dusty air, before strutting his arms out and blasting a gust straight into the two openings in the mechanism. The sound of Bells and whistles could be heard, as they watched the machine whirr. Slowly the gigantic wooden door opened, revealing a large room dimly lit by a ray of sunlight.

A unanimous "Woah!", came from the three non airbenders.

Walking in, they could see the hall was filled with statues of people in a large spiralling fashion. The statues swirled around, going all the way up to the ceiling.

"Who are all these guys?", Katara asked.

"These are all the previous avatars", Aang explained. While Aang walked the rest of them over to a statue of an old man, Trunks felt the energy he'd felt before. It was coming from deeper into the vault, almost calling him. He walked over, past hundreds of statues, until he came across the source of the energy. An old wooden statue.

"Weird, why are you giving off energy?", Trunks thought. He stared at the figure, a sleek man with shoulder length hair and a goatee. It was different from the others, for one it was wood, but it had something else with it. A snake like entity circled it, some sort of spirit it seemed. Trunks couldn't help but gaze into the eyes of the statue, which possessed an eerie feeling of life, entrancing him. Suddenly, they flickered gold, followed by the entity around it lighting ablaze. The half saiyan flinched in surprise, but suddenly found himself in a completely different place.

"What the hell?", Trunks exclaimed. The area was completely white, akin to the room of spirit and time.

"Hello there.", came a voice from behind him. Instantly, he tuned around, ready to fight. However, he was taken aback by who he saw. It was him, the man in the statue. "Hi, I'm Wan"

"Hi, I'm trunks", He said confused. "Where are we?"

"Spirit world"

"Huh, cool, why?"

"Well you're straight to the point aren't you?", Wan chuckled. "To cut it short, you're not from around here, and it's kind of a problem"

"What do you mean?", Trunks asked.

"It's hard to explain, but the energy you're using isn't compatible with this world. It can handle a bit, but you've got way too much. If you carry on using it, you risk completely throwing off the balance."

"Is that why Aang went crazy at the North Pole when I powered up?"

"Yeah. You overloaded the world, and as the avatar it affected him the most."

Trunks felt a little bad, he could've hurt Aang. "So what do I do, I can't just stop using my powers."

"Well that's why I'm here", wan smiled.

"Wait, who are you?"

"The first avatar."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Me? Nothing. I'm just going to point you in the right direction." Wan walked over to Trunks and held a hand out. "I'm going to send you to an old friend of mine."

Trunks thought for a moment, considering, until taking the hand. The moment he did, Wan was gone, and in his place was a goliath of a creature. "I'm guessing you're Wan's friend then?", Trunks remarked.

"Indeed I am.", The creature replied. He was, in every essence of the word, huge. Resembling a kind of turtle and lion fusion, the beast emanated a raw aura of prestige, wisdom, and reverence.

"He told me you could help, how?

"I shall bestow upon you the gift of bending".

"What?", Trunks said. "You can do that?"

"Yes. In order to keep your power from spilling, I will give you the means to alter it, by imparting to you the knowledge of Bending". The lion turtle held out his claws, positioning them on Trunks' chest and forelock. "in life I would grant humans the gift of fire, but to you I grant with it knowledge". With a flash of light, he was back in the room.

He felt different. He didn't feel as charged. What had that lion turtle done to him? "He said he would change my energy". Trunks held out a hand, meaning to conjure up a ki ball. He focused the energy to his hand as he would usually do, except instead of ki, he shot out a wave of flames. "Well, guess that it", He said in surprise.

"Trunks!", Called Sokka from the entrance. "We're going to check out the other places, you coming?"

"I'll be there in a minute, you guys carry on", he replied.

"Suit yourself", Sokka said, walking off. Trunks got up and decided to test his new abilities. He took his regular fighting stance, throwing a few punches. His physical attacks were significantly hampered, like he was only able to use his biological strength; however, he couldn't bring forward his ki in large amounts without making fire. He breathed in deep, clenching his fist tight, and then launching it forward, releasing a condensed ball of flame.

"Nice". He'd need to learn how to better use these new abilities, at the moment his attacks were looking pretty weak in comparison to the attacks he'd seen at the village. As he was about to head out the door, he felt a spike of Aang's energy, immediately it was followed by a faint glow from the statues. "What the hell!". Trunks bolted towards the group, exiting the building he was in, and finding hurricane force winds the moment he stepped out. The wind speed caught him off guard, but it didn't really faze him, however the closer he got to Aang, the heavier the gusts got.

"Aang, stop! I know it hurts, but you have us! We're your family now!", Katara cried out. Trunks could see her getting closer, he was going to quickly intervene and knock Aang unconscious, but to his surprise the airbender descended. He held Katara's hand, and embraced her, crying.

"I'm really the last airbender, aren't I?", Aang muttered.

Trunks really felt for the young boy, he knew what it was like to be the last of your kind.


	4. Chapter 4: Kyoshi

Chapter 4: Kyoshi

The group had taken off from the southern air temple, and were looking for the North pole. Unsuccessfully. They had been basically wandering around for days, since no one knew how to use a map. Trunks sat at the back of the saddle, his legs crossed, as he focused inwards. Image training was one of the things his late master, Gohan, had taught him. In his head, Trunks worked through dozens of forms, conjuring up flames like he did energy, but nothing felt quite right.

"Hey katara, look at this cool trick!", Aang said, breaking Trunks' concentration. The monk held some marbles in his hand, using his bending to manipulate the air currents, he made the balls spin around rapidly in between his palms.

"That's great!", Katara said, without looking.

"You didn't even look though".

"that's great!", She said, not paying attention again.

"You shouldn't interrupt girls while they're sewing, Aang", Sokka interjected.

Katara paused, looking up with a quirk to her eye. "What does swing have to do with me being a girl?"

"You know, girls are better at sewing pants, and men are better at hunting, fighting, and that stuff."

"Actually, Sokka, it doesn't really matter. I had to learn how to sew at a young age, and don't underestimate women in combat. They can be strong." Trunks intervened.

"See Sokka, why can't you be more like Trunks".

Without warning, Appa veered left, descending toward an island. They landed by the water.

"We stopped yesterday, shouldn't we get more flying in?", Sokka protested.

"Yeah Aang, we won't get to the North Pole until spring at this rate", Katara added.

"It's OK, Appa is just tired and needs a rest", Aang countered, nudging the bison. The beast didn't respond. "Aren't you Appa", Aang tried again. Appa let out a loud, yet clearly pretend yawn.

"It's cool guys, may as well have a little fun", Trunks said.

Aang ran towards the water, pointing at a disturbance in it. "We're here for that!". Out from the water leapt a massive fish, bigger than any fish Trunks had seen. Aang's eyes lit up, in eagerness to ride the fish. Trunks' stomach growled, eager to have a meal.

Within seconds, Aang was in the water, trying to show off by holding on to the sail of the fish as it dipped in and out of the water. The air nomad earned a few cheers from Katara, making him grin with rosy cheeks. Seeing all the fun, Trunks also decided to get into the water, taking off his clothes, leaving only undergarments. The half saiyan's well trained body was open to see, his large well-defined chest and broad back were accentuated with a plethora of scars. Trunks took a running jump into the water, flipping and turning in the air before gracefully diving in.

"Now that's impressive!", Sokka remarked, slightly envious.

Katara blushed at Trunks' physique, her ears heating up. She watched the water, as Trunks reappeared from under it, his long lavender hair sticking to his face. However, her focus soon shifted to Aang, as the fish behind him began to suddenly submerge. "Aang, get out of the water!", she screamed.

"What?", he said, unable to hear her. Abruptly, the fish he was on was yanked under the surface, making Aang swallow some water. As he spat out the liquid from his mouth, he caught a glimpse of what had dragged his ride under. A huge, black, serpentine eel arched out of the water, its sharp spines glistening like blades in the sun. Aang screamed, as he raced through the water to get to shore, the eel hot on his trail. Just as the creature was about to catch up, it stopped.

"Aang, are you OK?", Katara asked. "Wait where's Trunks?". They all stared at the lake, unable to find the boy or the beast, fearing the worst.

"You don't think he was eaten, do you?", Sokka spoke. Moments went by, no one too their eyes off the water.

"We have to find him!", Aang said. As Aang was about to go back, the beast reappeared, and in its back was Trunks. He ran up the beast's scales as it began to submerge once more, shooting off from its tail, landing right next to the group.

"Damn, he ate all the fish", Trunks said casually. Before the gang could react to what just happened, they were suddenly blindsided by a group of 5. They jumped from the trees, quickly incapacitating Sokka, Katara, Aang, and Momo, leaving them hogtied. Moving to attack Trunks, they all encircled him, fans probed to strike. "What do you want?".

"Answers", The presumed leader answered. "Why are you on our island?".

"We're just stopping for a moment".

"And why should we believe that? You're coming with us!". She moved forward with her fan, aiming for a quick knockout strike at the neck, but Trunks was fast enough to duck under. He swept her legs, though she quickly recovered, and her allies were on Trunks back. One of them attempted to grab his arm, but wasn't expecting his immense strength, being quickly flung off. Trunks was in a bind, he didn't want to hurt these girls, they weren't benders, and they were only defending their island.

"Wait!", Trunks shouted. "We'll come with you."

"Trunks! What are you saying?", Sokka screamed. "You can't let these guys beat us!".

Trunks ignored him, putting his hands out in surrender as the fighters bound them together. He could break out if he wanted. The girls took them to the centre of town, tying them to a large wooden structure. An old man came out from a shack, clearly irate.

"Remove the cloths", he said. The girls moved in, removing the sashes that blocked their vision.

"Hey, where are the men that took us down?", Sokka demanded to know.

"There aren't any, we took you down", the girl said.

"Nah, no way a bunch of girls took us down"

The girl got right in Sokka's face, frowning. "The Unagi will eat well tonight!"

"What are you doing on out island? How can we be sure that you aren't spies of the fire nation?", the old man said, angrily." Kyoshi Island has remained neutral for 100 years, and we will not be dragged into this war!"

Aang perked up. "Hey did you said Kyoshi Island? I know Kyoshi!", He said. The old man clearly did not believe him.

"Kyoshi was born nearly 400 heads ago, how could you know her?"

"Well, I'm the Avatar"

This seemed to tip the man over the edge. "That's it, feed the imposter to the Unagi"

Trunks was preparing to break out and escape, it's a shame he couldn't fly at the moment. "Aang do some bending", Katara whispered.

"Oh, yeah". Aang used a gust of wind to cut his ties, and blew himself into the air, using air currents to slowly float down. "Now! Watch this!". Aang pulled out his marbles, and did his trick from earlier, though this time the crowd was much more enthusiastic.

"He is the avatar!", The old man said. "Quick untie them, feed them, show them out hospitality.", the man laughed.

Over the course of the day, word quickly spread of the Avatar being on Kyoshi Island, soon reaching the banished Prince. "The avatar is in Kyoshi?!", Zuko shouted. "Plot a course, uncle, we head their before night fall."

Uncle Iroh looked at the roasted duck fish in front of him, as Zuko began to march away. "Zuko, are you going to eat that?", he asked, timidly. Zuko marched back, snatching the plate.

"I was saving it for later!". Iroh pouted.

The gang was now sitting down in a room they had been given, an array of desserts laid in front of them. Well, there were, until Trunks wolfed down most of it. Sokka, however, was not at the table, he was sulking in a corner after having his ego wounded. "Hey, aren't you hungry?", Trunks asked.

"No", he replied. The water tribe boy got up. "I'm heading out, see you guys later".

Katara looked at Trunks, as if to say 'Follow him, please'. Trunks grabbed a few sweet buns, and followed after his friend. "Where are you going?".

"To show those girls not to mess with me."

Trunks didn't say anything. It was high time for Sokka to realise that he was being arrogant, so he'd let him learn that lesson. They both walked into the dojo.

"Hey ladies, sorry to interrupt your dance moves, I was just looking for some place to get a little work out in"

The warriors all ceased their training, as the leader, addressed Sokka. "well you've come to the right place. Oh, and sorry about yesterday, we didn't know you were friends of the avatar".

"Oh no, that's OK. I usually hold a grudge but seeing as you're all a bunch of girls, I'll let it slide."

"We hope so, big strong man like you, we wouldn't have a chance", she quipped.

"Well yeah, I was the strongest warrior in out village", Sokka said smugly"

"Then you wouldn't mind showing us some moves then would you?"

"Yikes, she called his bluff", Trunks thought.

"Well, I ugh-"

"Come on, girls, don't want to see some of his moves?". The rest of the warriors all murmured in agreement.

"OK fine, but don't say I didn't warn you"

"oh no", Trunks mentally face palmed. The next 3 minutes were essentially a comedy reel of Sokka having his masculine ego, ground into makeup powder by Suki. The girl's technique and experience clearly showed, as she blocked, parried, and redirected Sokka at every point, leaving him sprawled across the floor with his hand tied to his foot.

"Anything else to teach us?", she mocked.

"OK, Sokka, let's go", Trunks said, feeling bad. He untied Sokka, who left the room in a huff. Trunks was going to leave as well, but Suki spoke up.

"Wait a minute, we didn't finish our last bout either, since you surrendered."

"It was best at the time"

"Was it, or were you afraid of losing?", she jeered.

Trunks smirked. "Trust me, there was no chance of me losing"

"Don't just talk then, show us".

He sighed. "Ok". Before any of the girls could blink, Trunks was in Suki's face. The girl attempted to strike his shoulder with her fan, but found it locked by his vice grip. Quickly, not giving her a chance to let go, Trunks spun her arm behind her, twisting it. "Told you"

"You're good", she admitted. Spinning around to release her arm, she attempted to get Trunks off balance, using his weight against him, but when she tried to move him it was like trying to move a building. Trunks decided to finish the spar, getting behind Suki and swiping behind her knee causing her to fall, catching her before she hit the ground.

"You're not too bad yourself", Trunks smiled. He helped Suki up, and gave her a bow. "See you later".

Trunks left the building and found Sokka moping around out front, he was pretty sure the water tribe boy had learnt his lesson, so he decided to help Katara at the bazaar. He would've liked to train his new Firebending, but the islanders seemed to not like anything to do with Fire nation.

As Trunks walked into the shopping area, he passed Aang showing off to a group of girls by doing press ups. Ignoring that, he found Katara picking up various vegetables. "Hey Katara."

"Hey Trunks, sorry to ask, but do you mind carrying this basket for me?"

"Yeah sure, no problem. What's with all the stuff anyway?"

"Well, I mean, we do need to leave soon and we'll need supplies", she explained. "Plus, I think this fame is getting to Aang's head", she said, pointing to Aang and his adoring fans.

Trunks laughed awkwardly. "Yeah. Anyway, Sokka should be fine now. If I'm right, he should be training with the girls right now".

"Really? What happened?"

"They kicked his butt...again". They both had a chuckle. "Let's head back and get this stuff packed".

As Trunks and Katara walked back, Aang watched. He didn't want to admit it, but he was a little jealous. He needed to get Katara's attention, but how?

Trunks had helped Katara load all the materials into Appa's saddle, and they were now headed back to the room. "So, Trunks, you never did explain all the flying stuff", Katara said.

"Dammit, you had to ask at the one time I can't actually use my powers", Trunks thought. "Yeah, um, about that, I kind of can't use my powers anymore"

"What?! Why?"

"Remember how Aang went crazy when I fought those Firebenders, that was because if me. So, when we went to the air temple, I had my powers locked".

"So, are you powerless now? Is that why you let the Kyoshi warriors take us?", Katara asked.

"Well no, I still have my biological strength, and I also got given something else. Just don't freak out please", Trunks explained. He held out his hand, and began conjuring up a flame, but before he could Aang walked in.

"Uh hey Guys", Aang said. "I'm going down with the girls to the water"

"OK", Katara said.

"I'm going to surf the Unagi"

"Cool"

"you're not going to stop me"

"Nope"

"Fine then!", Aang shut the door, leaving in a rush.

"So, what's up with you guys?", Trunks asked.

"Nothing, Aang is just being super weird ever since we came here", Katara said.

"It's minor, he's just enjoying the attention for once. Come on, let's make sure he doesn't hurt himself"

She smiled. "Yeah, let's go"

When they arrived, they found Aang in the water, alone. "Katara!", Aang exclaimed. "I though you weren't coming?"

"We wanted to make sure you were safe", she said.

"But back then you made it seem like you didn't care"

"I'm sorry, Aang"

"Me too, I let the attention get to me, I was being a jerk"

"Well then get out the water before you get a cold, you jerk", she giggled.

"Ok", he said, as he started to swim back. He was almost at the shore when black fins popped out from behind him.

Katara gasped. "Aang, hurry up"

"What", was all he could say, before the eel had lifted him out the water. He held on to one of its whiskers, being flung about like crazy, spewing jets of water, until it finally blew him away. Aang landed a few metres off the shore, unconscious. Katara jumped in to grab him.

"Katara wait", Trunks shouted. The Unagi was gaining on them, and by the time Katara held Aang, it was already about to strike. When the Unagi lunged forward, Katara tried to use her waterbending, but it wasn't enough. Just as the eels was going to consume them, Trunks jumped forward and punched the creature as hard as he could, stunning it. Trunks fell back into the water, quickly heading back to dry land with Katara and Aang.

Spluttering out water from his lungs, Aang woke up. "Katara, you saved me.", he groggily said.

"Well, more so Trunks, we would be been fish chum if not for him", Katara stated.

Trunks shook his head to get the water out his ears. "Don't mention it. I would've killed it, if I could use my full strength", he admitted. While the Unagi swam away, it passed a large metal ship that was heading for the island. Aboard its helm was Prince Zuko, an angry scowl on his face.

"Men, raze this village to the ground, as long as you find the Avatar, I don't care", he commanded. The moment the ship struck land, the drawbridge descended, and Firebenders poured out.

Trunks could sense it. "Him again", he growled. "Guys we need to get to the village, there's trouble".

"What happened?", Aang asked.

"Firebenders". The three of them rushed to the centre of the island, however it was already burning. The Kyoshi warriors were fighting as best they could, but we're struggling against benders and Komodo-rhinos. A mounted Firebender shot at Suki, but was parried by a makeup wearing Sokka.

"Guess training is over!", Sokka quipped.

Trunks rushed in, clotheslining two soldiers, and slamming his heel into the helmet of another, shattering it. Multiple soldiers began to gang up on him, jabbing with their blades at his face. He evaded most, but was struck a few times, earning some nasty gashes before jumping out of the encirclement. Trunks looked at a broken guan dao on the floor, picking it up. "Damn, if only I didn't leave my sword in the room", he murmured. Aang came in from above, blowing away some of the soldiers, as Trunks slashed at the remainder, his vision obscured from the blood dropping from his forelock.

"Avatar!", came the screaming voice of Zuko. "You're coming with me!". He shot two balls of flame at the air nomad, who used his staff to disperse the blasts. Zuko didn't relent, following through with close quarters combat, attempting to slice at Aang with fire daggers. Aang nimbly moved out of the path of the blades, going under the prince's legs, and using a burst of air to blow him away into a building.

Aang looked around, the burning houses, terrified children, and blackened effigy of Kyoshi, filling him with guilt. He flew over to Katara, who was guiding villagers to safety. "Katara, this is all my fault".

"No it isn't Aang", she said.

"Yes, it is, they tried to protect me, and now they're being attacked.

"We have to leave then, they'll follow us".

Aang sighed. "I'll get Appa".

Trunks continued fighting with the warriors, watching them slowly get overwhelmed by the Firebenders.

"Trunks!", called Katara, from the air. "Let's go!"

He looked up at the flying bison, at his friends, before looking down at the warriors again. "No. You go, I'll protect the village."

"But Trunks-", Aang tried to intervene.

"JUST GO!". Reluctantly, the two flew off to pick up Sokka, and leave. Trunks turned, back toward the Firebenders, and saw Zuko. "Back for round two?"

"It won't be the same", Zuko said. They both took their stance, as the soldiers surrounded them. Zuko moved in with a fire sweep, which the half saiyan narrowly dodged. He leapt forward, aiming to punch Zuko in the jaw. However, as he got close enough, Zuko blasted him in the arm. Trunks fell back with his skin burnt; without his Ki he wasn't as resistant.

"Lucky shot", Trunks hissed in pain. Trunks thought that it was time to pull out his transformation, the strength boost would let him easily pummel these guys, even if he was injured. He screamed out, raising his ki to the boiling point, waiting to manifest his golden glow. His power raised and a small aura of red appeared, but abruptly it stopped; he couldn't turn into a super saiyan!

"Hmph, looks like you're not as unstoppable as we thought", Zuko smirked. "Men, end him!". The benders all struck at the same time, fire coming at Trunks from every direction. He couldn't dodge, he couldn't tank it either. In a last ditch effort, he swung his arm, waiting for the burn, but it never came. The fire was swept away, leaving Trunks unharmed, and the Firebenders shocked.

"OK Trunks, think, you can't go super saiyan, you'll need to bend. But how?", he thought. Trunks mimicked Zuko's stance, his feet wide and palms forward. He couldn't produce enough fire, so he'd have to get close. Locking on to one soldier, he moved in, striking fire into his chest, earning an agonised scream. He spun round quickly, swatting away a blast, sweeping fire at their feet, before roundhouse kicking two soldiers.

"You may be able to Firebend, but you're clearly a novice". Zuko generated two fire daggers, aiming a slash at his chest, but the strike was evaded. He noticed a burn on Trunks' arm, thinking it a weak point he jabbed at it. Trunks saw the attack coming, grabbing the fire dagger in his palm, negating it, and punching Zuko straight in the solar plexus, knocking him to the floor.

"Enough, the Avatar is getting away, follow him!", the banished Prince ordered, through ragged breaths. The remaining soldiers and Zuko all left for the ship, pursuing Aang. As soon as they were gone, Trunks fell to his knee, having taken a lot of damage. He watched the ship follow Appa, a speck falling from the bison, splashing into the water. It was Aang! He rose from the water atop the Unagi, using its water stream to put out the flames. As the water pattered on his face, Trunks got up, and took out his capsules.

*Poof*. He took out his bag of senzu beans, popping one in his mou th and swallowing. Immediately, he felt his wounds and aches disappear, and his energy returned. "OK, time for me to find a teacher."


	5. Chapter 5: Taming fire

Chapter 5: Taming fire

After Trunks' rough fight against Zuko, he realised he'd need a master to use his new fire power. Hence, Trunks had left Kyoshi, entering deeper into occupied earth kingdom territory via boat. After days of travel, he'd come across a small fire nation village. "Maybe I can find a master here", he hoped. An aroma of food tantalised his nose, and his stomach roared. "And some food would be nice too".

Entering the village, he learnt that they were having a festival of some sort, one of many apparently. It wasn't long before he came across a stall, they were selling flaming hogfish, which he bought with the few coins the Kyoshi warriors gave him. The fish was spicy, having a smoky flavour and a hint of, what he thought was, paprika. He'd scared down the food at a frightening pace, gaining him a number of glares. He wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his brown, hooded, tunic which he'd been given on Kyoshi, after his other one was burned. As he walked around, a poster caught his eye.

JEONG-JEONG THE DESERTER. WANTED FOR TREASON AGAINST THE FIRE NATION.

Trunks stared at the wanted sign. "Maybe I've just found a master!". He opened up his senses, after a bit of practice he was now able to differentiate between the energies of different benders, though his senses were still duller with his new powers. He scanned the surrounding areas around the village, mostly sensing non-benders. He pushed his senses as far as they could go, and right at the edge, he sensed a Firebender. "Bingo."

He rushed through the foliage towards the energy signature, slashing through some vines with his sword. As he neared the energy, he noticed others converging on him. Suddenly, 4 men leapt down from the canopy, pointing spears at Trunks. "State your purpose".

Trunks calmly looked the man in the eye. "I'm here to see Jeong-jeong", he answered, truthfully. The man peered inti Trunks' eyes, finding no deceit, and lowering his weapon.

"Follow". The man led Trunks to a camp of sorts, pointing to a hut near the river, indicating it as Jeong-Jeong's.

"Thanks, he said. Trunks entered the hut, finding it dark and gloomy, lit up dimly by candles. Sitting behind the candles, next to a dead tree, was an old man with wild white hair. Trunks approached, sitting in front of the candles.

"What is it you want from me?", Jeong-Jeong asked.

"To learn Firebending", Trunks responded. Jeong-Jeong turned to look at Trunks, his face locked in permanent scowling. He examined the half saiyan intently, as though examining his soul.

"Hmm, yes, you are a disciplined man. Where do you come from? Your features are not that of fire nation".

Trunks mulled over telling the man the Truth, he didn't want to, but something told him the man would see through any lie he told. "My tale is not the most believable", he explained.

"Continue", the master insisted. Thus, Trunks explained his long story, his journey to the past, his battle with foes, and his arrival in this world.

"I hope you don't think that I'm crazy", Trunks nervously laughed.

"I believe you, your eyes tell the truth". Jeong-Jeong stood up, and exited the tent, as Trunks followed. He stood, staring at the evening sun in sombre thought. "Trunks, do you see the sun? It is the greatest of fire, yet it is at balance with nature. You must be like this, measured, controlled, lest your flames burn all that you love".

Trunks nodded. "I understand".

"Good. Now widen your stance". Trunks obliged, spreading out his feet in a squat like position. "Now, breathe. The breath is the source of fires power". The half saiyan breathed in deep, his enlarged saiyan lungs taking in the fresh forest air, before slowly breathing out. Jeong-Jeong walked away, leaving Trunks to breathe and contemplate.

2 hours later, Jeong-Jeong returned, finding Trunks on the same spot, breathing. He smiled, impressed. "OK, now I want you to try fire control", he said, as he set fire to a leaf on the floor. "Do not allow the flame to grow". Trunks held his hand toward the flame, focusing on the heat, willing it to stagnate. The fire continued to burn, but did not spread, as Trunks controlled it perfectly.

"I can feel you trying to make it grow, Master Jeong-Jeong.", Trunks smirked. The old man gave a light smile back.

"He's a prodigy, maybe even greater than I", He thought. "A quick learner you are, let us advance then. I want you to great a flame of your own, as large as you can, without losing control". Trunks nodded once again. He cupped his hands, breathing deep, concentrating on the heat between his palms. Rapidly, a huge flame grew, burning in a pure white. It raged up, doubling Trunks' height, but he remained in full control.

"Uhm, Master, is it meant to be white?"

Jeong-Jeong was internally gobsmacked. White flames had never been seen, and the heat from it was intense like the blazing sun. "Trunks", Jeong-Jeong began. "You are a Firebending prodigy".

A week went by quickly, as Trunks absorbed and mastered Jeong-Jeong's lessons in rapid succession. By the end of the week, Trunks was sparring with the master. The deserter praised the half saiyan's power, admitting that it was only his years of experience that allowed him to best Trunks.

Trunks launched a stream of white-hot flames at Jeong-Jeong, who sliced through with a thin fire blade, and retaliated with a fire bomb. To cushion the blast, he raised a wall of fire, however failed to notice that the master had launched a pincer attack past his shield. Trunks spun his arms, taking control of the flames, redirecting them back at Jeong-Jeong, who blocked them in his palms.

"Good!" Your skill is growing exponentially", The master praised.

"Thank you, master", Trunks replied, bowing. "How long till I can learn your vanishing trick".

"Unfortunately, that is my secret". Trunks laughed, as he put back on his tunic. "How has your attempts at regaining your old abilities been?"

He sighed. "Not too well, my sensing has gotten better, and I can kind of fly using Firebending now". Trunks had hoped that he could gain some of his old powers back, but it seemed his new powers had blocked them. He knew he could use them; he just didn't know how to bring them out.

"That's progress, but nowhere near the power you have told me of, hopefully soon you will figure it out" Jeong-Jeong headed back into his tent to meditate, and Trunks headed into the town to buy some supplies.

The village had calmed down since the festival, though he'd heard a few talks of another one in two weeks or so. Heading into a store, Trunks looked around, he needed some new gear, sparring had worn his current clothes out. "Excuse me miss, how much are those boots and pants?", he asked the keeper.

"5 pieces, dear", she hummed. Trunks placed 5 pieces on the desk, he'd made a little bit of money from selling the fish he caught. "Here you go, you can change in there if you like".

"Thank you, ma'am". He entered the changing room, putting on the boots and pants, which were both black, with some Bronze trimmings on the boots. "Nice". He left the store, and picked up some more groceries, then heading back.

Another week passed, Trunks now being able to occasionally get the better of Jeong-Jeong, and had drawn grown adept enough with his new energy to use some old techniques.

Trunks threw rapid fire blasts at Jeong-Jeong, who just barely parried them and launched a flame whip himself. Generating a fire dagger, he sliced the whip, before jumping up into the air, the sun behind him.

He held his hands to his face, fingers spread with his palm inward. "SOLAR FLARE", he shouted out Tien Shinhan's signature attack. Jeong-Jeong was blinded by the bright flash that emanated from the half saiyan, who took the chance to trap his master in a ring of fire. "I guess I win"

Jeong-Jeong, now able to see again, smiled. "Indeed, you have", he said. "What was that blinding move you used?"

"Unfortunately, that is my secret", Trunks smirked. "My training seems to have given me enough control over my new energy, that I can use some of the old techniques.

"That's good to hear. Additionally, I have news for you."

"Oh, what is it, Master?"

"As of today, I won't train you", he declared.

"What?! Why?", Trunks said, confused.

"You have learned all that I can teach you. From here on, you must develop your own skills, and hone your style. Not to mention, there is a power in you that I cannot help you tap into" Trunks looked down, slightly saddened, but understood his Master's decision, bossing to him.

"But Master, I have been slowly tapping into my old power?"

Jeong-Jeong turned and opened his tent. "That's not what I'm referring to", he said, walking in.

Trunks thought over what his master said, confused. Nonetheless, he continued his training, now learning how to combine Firebending with his sword. He channelled his bending into his sword, heating it up till it was red around the blades edge. Swinging the sword, it released thin streams of fire, cutting through trees, without starting a fire. "Maybe I should start training in the gravity room again?", he thought.

A few weeks later, Trunks decided to go hunting, since he needed some produce to sell and eat. He waited in the bushes, eyeing a large bear as it looked around. With a quick slice of his arm, Trunks slashed the creature's neck with a streak of fire, killing it as efficiently as possible. Using his sword, he skinned and gutted the animal, cooking a bit of the meat for a taste as well. "Needs salt", he noted.

Carrying the meat back to camp, he noticed a familiar energy. "No, it can't be! Can it?". He broke into a sprint, getting back in under two minutes. The moment he walked in, he found Katara and Sokka, standing by the river. "Katara, Sokka, hey!", he waved.

The two of them jumped, not expecting the holler. When they turned, they realised who was calling them. "Trunks!", both of them shouted, running and hugging him.

"Where the heck did you go! We came back for you, but you weren't there!", Sokka scolded.

"Sorry guys, I needed to find a Firebending teacher", he said, feeling slightly bad.

"Yeah that was quite the revelation", Katara chipped in. "Is that what you were going to show me back on the island?".

"Yeah, it's what I have to use instead of my powers". Trunks looked around, wondering where Aang was.

"Oh yeah, we're here to ask Jeong-Jeong to teach Aang; he's in the tent", Katara explained. Just then, Aang and Jeong-Jeong walked out, Aang being told to take stance and breathe. However, Aang noticing Trunks, broke concentration.

"Trunks! What are you doi-", Aang tried to say.

"Did I tell you to stop concentrating!", The master scolded Aang.

"Sorry."

Trunks, Katara, and Sokka, all giggled, getting angry looks from Aang. "So, Katara", Trunks started. "I sense you've gotten stronger; did you find a master?"

"No.", she sighed. "I've just been learning off of a scroll, until we get to the North Pole that is".

"Oh right.". Then it dawned on him. "Wait! Aang hasn't learnt water bending yet?"

"No", Katara replied, confused.

"Damn. He's going to struggle with Firebending then. Without the flexibility of water, or the sturdiness of earth, it'll be hard to control a fire. That's what Master Jeong-Jeong told me anyway"

"I'm sure it'll be fine, what could go wrong?".

Trunks decided he'd leave it to Jeong-Jeong, for now he'd have some fun. "Hey Sokka, want some fresh meat?", he shouted.

Sokka's head instantly perked up at the mention of meat. "Would I?", he asked sarcastically. "of course, I do". At that, Trunks threw a slab of meat at him. While it was airborne, Trunks lifted a palm, launching a torrent of flames, perfectly cooking the meat.

"Whoa", Sokka yelped. "Hot! Hot!", he said, as the meat fell in his hands.

"Wow! You've really gotten good!", Katara noted. "In only 5 weeks too!".

"Yeah, Jeong-Jeong is a good teacher. Plus, Firebending is actually a lot like my old powers, so it was easy to catch on really. Actually, I've managed to get some of my old powers back"

"That's amazing!"

"You know what's really great", Sokka butted in. "This meat!".

"Anyway, I'll be back in a few guys, I need to go sell this meat, we'll chat when I'm back"

Whilst in the village, Trunks heard some murmurs about an 'Admiral Zhao'. He didn't really pay much attention to it; he was in a rush to get back to camp. He sold his meat, getting a dozen silver coins for it, and headed back. As he drew near, he heard Aang getting frustrated.

"Ugh, all he dies is leave me to concentrate and breathe", Aang moaned.

"I'm sure there's a good reason", Katara supposed.

"But I'm ready for so much more". Aang then had an idea, he held the leaf in his left hand, and pumped his right. The flame spread, engulfing the leaf. "Look Katara, I'm doing it", Aang said, haphazardly juggling the flame.

"Aang you should really be careful with that".

"It's cool". He messed around with the flame for a while. "I wonder how that juggler did it", he said. Suddenly, he compressed the ball, and then spread it rapidly in a spinning ring, marvelling at the fire. Trunks entered just as he did.

"Aang No! Katara!", he screamed, trying to contain the flame wheel, as it burned Katara's hands.

"Katara! I'm so sorry", Aang shouted. Katara clutched her hands, they were badly burned.

"Get away from her!", Sokka screamed, tackling Aang. "We told you not to mess with this, and look what you did. You burned my sister!". As katara got up and ran away, Jeong-Jeong came back. "This is all your fault", Sokka pointed at the old master.

"I know. You must all leave!", Jeong-Jeong commanded. "Pack your things, you as well Trunks". Before Trunks could ask the issue, Jeong-Jeong had hurried after Katara.

Trunks looked at Aang. "I know it was an accident Aang, but you need to be careful. Don't worry, I have medicine", he said, trying to cheer the kid up. However, Aang simply walked silently into Jeong-Jeong's hut. "Poor kid". Trunks went back to his hut, grabbing his senzu capsule, and taking out the bag.

When he found Katara, her hands were already healed, and she was running back. "Hey, you OK?", he asked.

"Yeah, I'm OK, but we're under attack by Zhao.", she explained. "Jeong-Jeong's gone to fight".

Immediately, Trunks sensed out the old master, running over to him. He found his Master confronted by, Zhao.

"Look at you, you were once so great", Zhao spat. "Can't believe my master is nothing but a simple savage."

"It is you who have embraced savagery, Zhao!", Jeong-Jeong refuted.

"Admiral Zhao, actually."

"Titles won't help you against the Avatar, and my successor."

"successor?"

"He means me", Trunks said, stepping out. Without hesitation, Trunks launched a whip of fire.

Zhao jumped back in shock. "Men, get the deserter!". The men moved in, but Jeong-Jeong used his fire as cover to disappear.

Trunks laughed. "Still won't teach me that". From behind him, Aang came running.

"Oh, is it my lucky day? I get to take the Avatar, and kill Jeong-Jeong's successor", Zhao mocked.

Trunks unsheathed his sword, and Aang readied his staff. "Aang, you take the soldiers. I'll get Zhao". Aang nodded, running towards the group of six soldiers. "So Zhao, was it? Let's see what you've got".

Zhao growled in anger, generating fire in his palms. "Burn!", he screamed, spraying fire wildly. Trunks deflected with his sword, watching Zhao burn everything around him. The man tried again, throwing fire bombs rapidly, aiming for Trunks' head, though Trunks blocked via a fire wall. "You're weak, just like that old mad man!". Trunks retaliated, kicking waves of flame at the Admiral, looking to take out an arm. Zhao blocked with his forearm, searing his armour and clothes.

"Master was right, this guy's a complete loose cannon. I'll have to take him out quick". Using his sword, Trunks fired a thin stream of fire forcing Zhao to jump. While he was in the air, Trunks slid under, kicking him higher, as he prepared his modified signature attack. He took a deep breath, raised his hands while amassing energy, and fired. "BURNING ATTACK". A pillar of white-hot fire spewed from his palms, engulfing Zhao completely.

Zhao felt the heat of the attack as it assaulted his flesh and burned his hair. He landed, crumpled, on the floor, his metal armour glowing hot red. "What are you!", Zhao shouted in fear and anguish. He'd never seen someone so powerful.

Trunks walked over to the defeated admiral, looking him dead in the eyes. "Your nightmare.". The half saiyan held his blade to Zhao's face, the edge mere inches away. "Any last words?".

"let me go! I'll give you anything! Power, money, status, just name it! Please!"

"Wrong answer". Trunks raised his sword, fully intent on decapitating the man. As the blade was about to strike flesh, it was blocked by a wooden staff.

"No Trunks. We don't kill", Aang stated.

"What! He'd kill you without a second of thought", Trunks rebutted.

"The monks taught me that all life is sacred, Trunks. Please", Aang pleaded.

Reluctantly, Trunks removed his blade. "Next time he attacks us, he's dead". He fired a fire blast, burning the boats Zhao used, and walked away. Zhao fell into unconsciousness.

After grabbing their things, the team was ready to go. "So, where we headed?", Trunks asked.

"The North Pole!", Katara excitedly proclaimed.


End file.
